Zwanenberg streamlines employee training

For food companies, it can be complicated to keep track of whether all employees have followed the right training courses for the various activities they carry out. Pieter Pickhardt, QESH manager at Zwanenberg, location Van der Laan Almelo, has provided structure by using the Normec Foodcare Online training module. “I can now access all the data in one overview. We now see at a glance which employees have been trained.”

Pieter Pickhardt says that he had a clear goal two years ago. “I wanted to purchase a QA software package with which I can demonstrate that the employees have followed the right training courses for the work they carry out. In addition, I wanted to train employees faster.” Pickhardt opted for Normec Foodcare Online’s online training module because of its flexibility. “In Normec Foodcare Online, you can easily design and adjust the training yourself. For example, you can include photos of the practical situation in the training sessions. As a result, the teaching material comes to life much more for the employees.”

Specific demands

The QESH manager put fairly specific demands on the training module. Normec Foodcare Online saw the added value of this expansion and has therefore adapted its training module.” We were pleased with the suggestions Pieter provided us with”, says Rick Veldkamp, ​​Normec Foodcare Online business unit manager. “This enabled us to further optimise the training module. As a result, the module now fits even better into the practical situations of our customers.” Pickhardt mentions the example that he wanted to link the training courses to the work instructions and the procedures. “Before we used Normec Foodcare Online, we lost a lot of time instructing employees according to the manual documents. Now they are automatically registered for the right level of training. Employees must be re-trained if the work instructions or procedures change. That’s why it’s good that Normec Foodcare Online has two options to approve handbooks after changes, namely: ‘approve’ and ‘approve and train’.”

BRC 8

The training module meets the requirements set by BRC 8. “That’s a nice bonus, but that was not what concerned us at first”, says Pickhardt. “It is good for us that we have a good overview of the employees who are allowed to carry out the work in question. We now see at a glance which employees have been trained for this. This also ensures good demonstrability during audits.” Pickhardt wants to further roll out the use of the training module. “I also want the employment agencies to work with this. Temporary workers can then go through the curriculum at home. In this way, they are well prepared when they enter our company.” He also wants to expand the use of Normec Foodcare Online within Van der Laan Almelo. “In addition to the training courses and manuals, I also want to place internal inspections in the software. And I hope that even more of our branches will switch to Normec Foodcare Online, so that we can learn from each other internally.”